


bad news (how to lose someone)

by revoleotion



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Dooku is sympathetic, Master and Apprentice spoilers?, Rael is bisexual and you can't stop me, mention of grief and death, set after ep I
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:06:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21557497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revoleotion/pseuds/revoleotion
Summary: Obi-Wan calls Rael to inform him of Qui-Gon's death. Rael suspects that an old friend might have something to do with it. (spoiler: he's not wrong.)
Relationships: Dooku & Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku & Rael Averross
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	bad news (how to lose someone)

"Shit," the Jedi said with enough power to his voice to make sure that everybody criticizing him for cursing might get hit with a lightsaber.

  
"Shit," he repeated again because he had no other outlet for his sadness. It was something between grief and anger, hidden deep between the layers of what he allowed himself to feel. If Rael said anything else right now, even a simple "I'm fine, go away", he'd burst into tears. So, he closed his eyes and waited for the person in his bed to get the hint. They did - and left Rael alone with the bad news and the urge to rip the heart out of his chest.

  
Eventually, he got up and activated the hologram again. The face of the student he had met years ago hadn't visibly aged but his eyes looked like they were a thousand years old.

  
**I thought you should know** , he said and Rael felt the urge to scream as the boy teared up and stopped the recording for a second. When he started again, hours had passed and he looked calmer.

  
**Master Jinn passed away today. Actually, he didn't just pass, he was murdered** , Obi-Wan's holo continued. He reached for the comlink to pause again but before he could do it, he sobbed quietly and apologized. This was the worst part of the holo and it hit as hard as it had hit the first time. 

  
**We're currently investigating who it was but he had a red lightsaber. I guess we know what that means.**

  
Rael did and he hated it. For a second, he considered Dooku but it _couldn't_ have been him. He had been passionate, not evil.

  
He listened to Obi-Wan telling him the funeral details. Some part of Rael didn't want to go. Part of him wanted to hide under his covers until Qui-Gon contacted him and told him that he had faked his death. 

  
It could have happened. But not even Qui-Gon could escape a Sith. This was not how Rael had expected them to part, definitely not. He had loved Qui-Gon like a brother and maybe even more but he had always respected that man's wish to stick to the code in his way. 

  
He should record an answer but he pressed the call button instead. Obi-Wan took a while but when he took the call, he seemed surprised. 

  
"I got your message," Rael said like there was any other reason for him to contact the Padawan. Was he even a Padawan anymore? He deserved a higher rank for this. 

  
Obi-Wan sat up straight and tried reaching for the braid that wasn't there anymore. That gesture was so familiar yet so horrifying because it had been taken away from the boy in such a brutal way. Rael gave him time to answer and tried to make out his surroundings. The hologram only showed the boy's torso and a chair, so he couldn't tell where Obi-Wan was. 

  
"It not fair," the kid mumbled under his breath. "I mean, it shouldn't have happened this way."

  
Rael suddenly felt the loss of a friend like someone had pulled the ground away from his feet. He stopped breathing for a second, then he forced himself to accept the truth and process it. He wasn't alone, but it felt that way. Over the past decades, he had lost his student, he had lost his master to the dark side and now the only person that could even begin to understand his pain. 

  
"I don't know what to say," Rael admitted. "Apart from the stuff the council wants me to say."

  
"They said it was meant to be," Obi-Wan spit it out like the words were poison. "But I don't understand that."

  
Rael remembered the awkward attempts of people to help him after Nim's death. There wasn't anything that could've helped - well, maybe someone could've helped but he hadn't called back then. 

  
"It wasn't meant to be. Don't let them tell you that. It happened, yes, but the universe doesn't want us to lose the ones we love."

  
"It's still stupid." 

  
"I agree. It's _very_ stupid." Rael forcefully crafted a smile and shrugged. "But sadly, it happens. Some beings find comfort in the fact that one day they'll be joined with the people they lost."

  
"I thought we didn't believe in that," Obi-Wan admitted quietly. 

  
"Then what do you believe?" Rael asked. 

  
The former Padawan looked up with blurry hologram tears dripping to the ground. "I believe in whatever he did."

  
For some reason, this sparked a rage in Rael that didn't stop when he politely ended the call. It didn't stop when he got up and looked into the sunrise. Twin suns burned in front of his face but he couldn't enjoy the view. Annoyed by the restless feeling, Rael let himself bounce on his toes; back and forth until some of the pressure was gone. He knew that self stimulating wouldn't solve the issue. It maybe wouldn't solve anything right now.

  
Rael knew what he had to do and he did not like it. When the light flooded his room, he sat down on his bed and recorded a message. 

  
***

  
Dooku was, by all means, not having the best day of his life. He hadn't slept well. Dreams or prophecies kept him awake, spreading the familiar dreading feeling of having lost someone. Still, waking up was worse because his comm beeped annoyingly and demanded his attention. 

  
His first instinct was turning around in his bed. He allowed himself to feel that frustration, then the groaned and activated the message. 

  
**Just tell me if you did it.**

  
That was it. The Jedi's blue hologram silhouette blurred vaguely before disappearing again. Dooku stared at the empty space for a few more seconds, unwilling to believe what he just had seen.   
He had done _what exactly_? This encounter with Rael, his old Padawan and now part of his "don't interact" list, had been far from the polite coldness they had parted with. Fine, let the Jedi be Jedi-idiots without knowledge of real power. Dooku couldn't care less about them. 

  
But Rael had sounded so angry that Dooku almost believed he killed someone in a driving accident and Rael suspected him. He hadn't run over anyone recently, hadn't he? 

  
He made sure nobody was around to hear him (but Dooku was sincere that his master heard everything he wanted to hear), then he tapped onto the comlink to record. He avoided video recordings, even though everyone who cared for it could've found out where he lived and slept. After everything his father had done to him, Dooku liked sleeping in that room. 

  
"I have no idea what you are talking about," he said loudly and stopped the recording. Rael's healthy sleep patterns were non-existent, so Dooku wasn't surprised that the device beeped with a new message a few minutes later. He prepared himself, sighed and listened to it. 

  
**Don't lie to me** , Rael's silhouette hissed, **I'm willing to believe you don't call yourself a Sith Lord and I also believe you didn't kill him in person but it's easy to make a few calls, isn't it? What in the name of the Force did he do to you? He didn't like your offer either? That's low, even for you, Master.**

  
The old title struck like lightning but the rest of the message was worse. Dooku listened to it twice, then he dropped his hands into his lap and stared into the darkness of his room. He didn't want to do it, because once he felt the absence of his old student, his death would be permanent. Dooku had never cut himself off from the Force like that, and despite it only being a few seconds, the void hurt more than he'd like to admit. He opened himself up to the truth and closed his eyes. 

  
_Nothing_. 

  
Dooku had always found comfort in knowing that his old students were alright. That was a forbidden shame Sidious must've been aware of because it suddenly made sense to him. He leaned forward, finger hovering over the recording button. 

  
He hesitated. 

  
Did it make sense or was he being paranoid? The Dark Side was merciless but wasn't it a little hypocritical to call the Jedi out for not allowing any relationships... And then turn around and kill a fellow Sith's students? 

  
"I don't expect you to understand," he finally said into the communication device, "Don't contact me any further."

  
Rael's next message wasn't as long as the last one but equally furious. Dooku felt a faint hint of pride that he still sent video messages. There were no tears either. Maybe the man could be a great Sith after all. 

  
**I have trusted you. I don't think I will do that again.**

  
Dooku recorded, "You shouldn't" but didn't send it. He deleted their entire conversation, threw the comm against the wall and sent lightning after it, just for good measure. The void in his skull grew into a headache, and it took Dooku several deep breaths to calm down. 

  
And even though only one person had died, Dooku suddenly felt like he had lost everyone he knew. 

**Author's Note:**

> So... I did that? After finishing Master and Apprentice after THREE WEEKS, I fell in love with Rael and wanted to do more with him. Dooku is also a favorite of mine, so... Why not combine those things?  
> As per usual: English is not my mother language and I'm sorry that this is a mess!  
> \- ben


End file.
